Warriors, Echoing Cries #1 - Lost Minds

Prologue

    Sunpaw found herself bouncing on her own paws. Her first time meeting with StarClan! This day was the true beginning of her journey as ThunderClan's future medicine cat.

Most of the medicine cats were here, huddled together to shield themselves from the cold night winds, as they were only waiting for RiverClan. The cold didn't bother her, though, as she knew that all of each clan's medicine cats must be present for them to properly communicate with StarClan. Communicating with their warrior ancestors was the most important part of this night.

Oakshade stepped away from the group, heading further on the winding path that led to the shimmering Moonpool. "We should go without RiverClan," Her mentor began, catching the mixed expressions of all the medicine cats. "We know RiverClan hasn't been friendly to anybody recently." Oakshade paused, her one-eyed gaze seeming to approve of all the medicine cat's nods of agreement. "Perhaps they've decided to abandon StarClan entirely." Some of the medicine cats let out shocked gasps, some had angered or shocked expressions. Wolfice, however, let out a curt not of agreement, and from the look on his face, it was likely he wanted this topic to be brought up, as if he had planned something to say.

"Perhaps they made the right choice." Wolfice mewed calmly, clearly undisturbed by the harsh topic. Maybe more than undisturbed. Sunpaw thought bitterly. "StarClan hasn't been exactly... helpful to us recently. How can we expect them to guide us to the right path? To not hurt us? Haven't they already done enough damage already?" Even if it was easy to see where Wolfice was coming from, anger sparked from within Sunpaw. You can't say that about StarClan! How do you expect to not go to the dark forest when you speak like some who'd gladly join their ranks? Even though Sunpaw wanted to protest, she kept her mouth shut. This wasn't her place to speak. After all, she had never visited with StarClan before. She didn't exactly know how they acted, or what Wolfice meant by 'Haven't they done enough damage already? Still, how could anyone agree to the terrible claim?

Oakshade quickly snapped her head around, anger burned into her gaze. "Are you suggesting we abandon StarClan?"

Wolfice looked calmly toward Oakshade."Not abandon. We should just think for ourselves more." Some of the medicine cats looked more relieved, however all of them stayed silent. Clearly, no cat except Oakshade and Wolfice wanted part in this argument.

Oakshade snarled, her fur bristling. Her sudden mew sent most of the medicine cats backing away from her. "Was ShadowClan that desperate for a medicine cat when they took you in?"

Wolfice looked surprised, as if he had expected some cat to agree with him. "No, I was good at heali-"

Oakshade cut the ShadowClan medicine cat off. "This is why I'm opposed to rouges joining clans. They make cats like you. Cats who can't even heal properly, and have cats die due to their scrappy treatment." Oakshade's paused for a moment, but continued to speak when Wolfice opened his muzzle to respond. "Or even worse, make cats who want their clan to turn away from StarClan entirely!" Oakshade turned away, her angry expression seeming to burn into the stars. "This is why rouge blood should be spilled, not spread." With one last flick of her tail, Oakshade slowly walked down the path, the rest of the medicine cats following.

As the medicine cats followed Sunpaw's mentor toward the Moonpool, she saw Slitheringpaw roll his eyes. Before his own mentor could call him over, Slitherpaw muttered under his breath. "Wow. Oldoak is upset. I bet if I put a rotting hare in front of her she'd pass out and die on the spot!"

As the medicine cats approached the star-lit pool, Sunpaw's past worries and bitterness toward her mentor and Wolfice had vanished. As she looked toward the Moonpool, excitement stirred in her belly. Stars reflected on the pool's surface, and she could feel it's icy chill from the second she saw it. Was StarClan watching her now, just as excited to communicate with her as she was with them?

Her thoughts were interrupted by an annoyed growl from Oakshade. She moved forward quickly, focusing more on the starry pool than the medicine-cat drama. It was probably normal, for all she knew.

The WindClan medicine cat broke the silence, saving any other medicine cat from having to do it themselves. "Any news from the other clans? I don't have much to say about WindClan. All has been normal."

Wolfice let out an annoyed grunt. "I think all the clans are just fine. Lets just get visiting with StarClan and talk later."

Sunpaw watched as the other medicine cats touched their noses to the pool, and she did the same. The icy water immediately flooded her senses, and anxiety washed over her. She didn't want to open her eyes. Fear that she had failed to look into StarClan washed over her. But I have to, don't I?

As she opened her eyes, dread swarmed over her. She didn't feel calm like she thought she would. She felt panicked. Around her was unfamiliar land, that seemed different than the lake, in more ways than just the location.

As she snapped her head around, there seemed to be more spirits then she had imagined. However, instead of looking happy, they looked skinny and scared. Even so, their pelts still shimmered with stars, so they couldn't be dark forest cats. Right?

As they stared at her, they looked as if they wished they could say something, as if they needed help, but they kept silent. They passed through, proceeding with what seemed to be a sad, and miserable day in StarClan. However, as they walked, their pelts seemed to fade in and out of reality, and when they returned from fading completely, they looked scared and shocked.

Suddenly, a painful cry sounded from behind her. As she wipped around, dread swarmed her.

The stars seemed to be fading by the second. And yet, for as long as she looked, they never returned.

How long did they have?